Sexual and nonsexual dating violence perpetration: testing an integrated perpetrator typology

The present study tested the validity of an integrated sexual and nonsexual violence perpetrator typology outlined by Monson and Langhinrichsen-Rohling (1998) in a sample of 670 dating individuals. Two-hundred-and-sixty-five of the participants (87 men, 178 women) reported some act of sexual and/or physical dating violence perpetration in their lifetime. The data supported at least three perpetrator types, namely, the Relationship-only, Generally Violent/Antisocial, and Histrionic/Preoccupied types. Overall, these findings indicate that different factors may cause or maintain the intimate violence perpetrated within this heterogeneous population. There were important gender differences in perpetrator type membership, highlighting the differences in men's and women's use of violence. The implications of these findings are discussed with regard to the development of typologies, their application to men and women perpetrators, as well as their utility for the assessment and treatment of perpetrators.